On December 3rd SponsoredReviews posted on their sites some new Post types that advertisers can request from bloggers, as well as disclosure options for bloggers. These include being more clear about specifying in-post or site wide disclosure, or no disclosure in the case where there is no product review. If you are a blogger from the U.S. I recommend that you error on the side of caution and unless you are just including a “text link” with no mention of the product whatsoever you should probably include a disclosure in the post to ensure you are FTC compliant. Even though advertisers might still request “No disclosure, SiteWide disclosure” if you are compensated you may be at risk for not disclosing.
The other most interest options are now for advertisers to choose to specifically have “Content Repost” this is similar to advertiser purchasing a post on your blog as you must cut/paste the exact post the advertiser writes, and again in these cases I would recommend a disclosure. Better to disclose when you didn’t legally have to, than to not disclose when you legally should have.
Just something to think about.
Here are full details from SponsoredReviews:
New Post Types
For a long time we have had advertisers requesting the ability to select what type of post they want the blogger to write. Many advertisers do not want reviews they simply want an article about a particular topic (containing their links), or they want a blogger to simply repost content (such as a Press Release) exactly as they have it written. The great thing about articles is that if they are not an endorsement of the advertiser’s company/service/website, but are simply educational, there arent as many concerns about FTC rules and disclosures methods, although we would still suggest that bloggers have a site wide diclosure statement on their blogs.
Here are a list of the new post types:
- Article
If the advertiser chooses “Article” as the post type they are asking you to write an article about a subject that they request. For example, advertisers could ask bloggers to write an article about a keyword/subject related to their business. The article should not endorse/focus on the advertisers company, website or product but instead focus on educating your readers about the advertisers requested topic.
- Content Rewrite
A content rewrite is where the advertiser provides an article(or some other type of content) that they want the blogger to rewrite and post on their blog. The advantage of having a blogger rewrite a piece of content versus writing it from scratch is that it is much easier for a blogger to write about topics that they may not be familiar with. Please do not duplicate/copy the advertisers content, the rewrite should be 100% original content. The advertisers article should only be used as a reference on the subject/topic.
- Content Repost
A content repost is where advertisers provide an Article/Press Release/Advertisement (or some other type of content) that they want the blogger to repost on their blogs exactly as it was written. This is especially good for distributing press releases or promotions where it is important that the content be worded correctly. You must attempt to post the content as close to the original as possible. In some cases it may not be possible to format the post 100% the same as the original but you should try and use the same images, same formatting, etc..
New Disclosure Options
- No Preference
It is up to the blogger to decide how they disclose, the Advertiser does not have a preference.
- In-Post Required
Blogger must use the disclosure badge/image selected by the advertiser in their post. Our system will check for the disclosure badge upon the blogger submitting the completed post.
- Site Wide Only
Advertiser does not want In-Post disclosure but having a site wide disclosure on the bloggers site is acceptable. A Site wide disclosure is a written statement that the blogger accepts compensation to write posts.
- No Disclosure Needed – Not a Review
If the post is not a review and will not endorse the Advertiser than the advertiser can request non-disclosure. As always the bloggers still have the option to do site wide disclosures on their blogs.
-Dragon Blogger